Pessary



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PESSARY.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 7,788, dated November 19, 1850.

T o all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JONATHAN I-IovEY ROBINSON, of Charlestown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful or Impro-ved Uterine Supporter; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and accompanying drawings, letters, figures, and references thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure 1, denotes a perspect-ive view of the instrument. Fig. 2, is a central and longitudinal section of it.

The uterine supporter herein described essentially differs from the stem pessary, as heretofore improved by me, and for the improvement of which (the said improvement consisting in an open elliptical shield, made to fit around -the labia, of the mouth of the vagina, and so as to allow urinatio-n to take place through the said shield,) Letters Patent were granted to me on the seventh day of August, 1849. In my present improved instrument I make use of no suoli shield, as in the place of it I employ a solid metallic socket, and strap connector, one which so covers the mouth of the vagina as not only to prevent urination taking place through such connector, but to require the removal of it, (the connector) before urination can be affected with a proper degree of comfort to the patient. It will therefore be seen that there is a material difference between the solid strap connector, and an open shield constructed to fit around the labia, and in manner specified in my said Letters Patent, and for the purpose of permitting urination to take place without danger of saturation of the strap, and especially without necessity of a previous removal of the said straps from the shield.

The uterine supporter as now made by me,

is not constructed of a flexible material, such as is mentioned in my said Letters Patent, but it is composed of an inflexible such as silver, ivory, or other suitable metal or substance generally understood in the arts to be inflexible. It has a cap or bearer a, which is united with a supporting tube or stem b, by means of a ball and socket joint c, such as will permit the free and necessary movement of the cup in lateral directions, and independent-ly of the stem. The said stem is made hollow from one end of it to the other, and is formed of two parts cl e, one of which is made to t closely and slide upon the other, and so as to enable a person to either reduce, or increase the length of the stem as circumstances may require. A conduit or small passage f, is made through the central part of the supporting cup a, and the stem g, by which it is connected to the ball it. The said conduit is also continued into and entirely through the said ball h. The posterior straps z', 7c, are to be joined in any proper manner to the inferior or outer end of the stem b, while the anterior or front strap Z, is attached to the upper end or part of the connector m. All of these said straps being made to depend from a body or waist bel-t n. The said connector consists of an elongated or somewhat flattened piece of metal or other proper inflexible substance, having a socket 0, or mortise made up into its lower end, t-he said socket being constructed to receive a tenon p, which is so jointed to the stem b, as to be capable of being moved through about a. quadrant of a circle, and in a plane supposedl to pass through the axis of the stem b, and that of the connector. The connector m., is provided with a set screw 7", so arranged that on screwing it into the socket 0, its point or inferior end may be screwed against the tenon, and thereby screw the stem b to it, thus connecting together the said stem and the connector m.

The open end of the supporting stem b, being below the joint by which the tenon is connected to the directing pipe of a small syringe can at any time be introduced into it, and when so applied anyliquid or medicament with which the syringe may be charged, 'may be readily injected into and through the said stem, and from there through the supporting cup a, and against the uterus.

Previous to micturition, the wearer of the instrument unscrews the screw r, disconnects the connector m from the stem b and raises it out of the way of the urinary current. In this case the front suspensory strap and connector, are not liable to'be wet with the urine. They are much more agreeable to the wearer than an elliptical ring, which when made incapable of removal, independently of the stem with which it is connected, often becomes wet and thereby is rendered very inconvenient to the wearer.

In the manufacture of the gum pessary, a mold of considerable cost (about .fifty dollars) becomes necessary, and those made in any one mold, are all of one size. As it is desirable to have them of different sizes, a mold will be required for each size, the price of the manufacture being enhanced in consequence thereof. The same objection does not exist in respect to the improved uterine supporter, as its supporting stem can be elongated or made shorter as the case may demand.

The connector m being attached to thev stem b by means of a joint, such joint will allow the said connector to fit upon the labia, without exerting any tendency to draw the supporting cup out of the vagina, or away from the uterus as is the case with my stem pessary, made without such joint. Then the cup is applied to the stem by a ball joint, it can move freely from side to side agreeably to the motions of the body, and this I deem very material in my instrument of this kind. vWith such a means of applying the cup to the stem, the instrument becomes admirably adapted to the contingencies of auteversion (when the womb falls forward)' as it will turn its supporting cavity 'or cup toward that side wherethe support is most needed. So whether the womb falls forward upon the bladder, or backward upon the rectum, or directly downward, the ball and socket joint meets the contingency,while without it, the womb might slip from its proper resting place, and occupy a position between the bladder of the person, and the stem of the instrument anteriorly, or between the rectum and the stem posteriorly. Vhen it is considered that the cure or relief of the patient must depend on the uterus being kept exactly in proper place, this improvement will assume a bearing of much importa-nce.

Another important feature in my improved instrument, is the perforation through its stem, and ball, and thestem of the bearing cup, the same being for the object of enabling a person by means of a syringe to inject within the vagina, and against the uterus, either medicines for curative vpurposes, or water for cleanliness, and this without rendering it necessary to first move the instrument from the body. Such passage or perforation also allows of the escape of the superfluous secretions. The parts may be toned up and the cure greatly facilitated by the help .of proper tonic remedies, which ought never to be neglected while making use of mechanical support.

The inflexible material of which my improved instrument is made, besides being far more durable than a composition of either gutta-percha, or gum elastic, admits of greater smoothness of surface being produced upon it, so that there is hardly a possibility of its occasioning the least infiamma.- tion, but on the contrary it may be worn without pain even where some irritability of thek vagina already exists.

My said improved instrument is not liable to be destroyed or injured by being cleansed in hot water as is the case with the gum pessary, which in some instances hasbeen a serious object-ion to the latter. Besides this it is extremely diiicult in the manufacture of gum pessaries to make them free from air holes and flaws, the same rendering them not only liable to break, but to'change their form, a defect which is obviated by the use of an inflexible material.

As prolapsus is a disease very common among the laboring classes, it is not always convenient for them to purchase a new instrument as often as the case might demand, and providing it were of long standing. My improved uterine supporter will last as long as it can be needed in the cure or relief of any case.

I would remark that the supporting stem may in some instances be made without the perforation through it, but provided with the jointed connector, and a supporting cup attached to it by a ba'll and socket joint, or by any other proper means. In such case it may either be made so as to be capable of being elongated or contracted in length, or it may be not so made. So in case of the mode of connecting the joint of the supporting stem and the connector, some other mode (such as a spring catch for instance) may be substituted. Y

I would remark that I herein lay no claim JONATHAN Hover ROBINSON.

Witnesses: v

R. H. EDDY, FRANCIS GOULD, 

